Smokepolers killed nearly 4,000 more whitetails in '07’s season than in '06’s. Photo by Troy Huffman.

The opening day of muzzleloading season started at 5 a.m., when I headed south to what I believed was a secret hotspot. The drive was filled with anticipation. I could already envision a giant buck hanging above my mantel.

An hour later, I eased down the gravel road that led to my honeyhole. My anticipation was peaking when the reflection of another vehicle in the distance dampened my hopes for the hunt. I was going to have to share the woods with another hunter.

No problem, I thought, trying to convince myself. It's a big area. But the closer I came to the conservation area, the more vehicles I saw. As I arrived at the parking area, I half-expected a valet to meet me. The area resembled a used-car lot full of pickup trucks.

I did my best to put some distance between myself and the other hunters by walking to the farthest reaches of the public hunting area -- as far from the parking area and roads that crisscrossed it as I could get. My efforts were rewarded with a glimpse of two deer that, tails tucked and heads down, were obviously determined to put as much country between themselves and the sea of hunter orange as was possible.

Not too long afterward, I was griping to Lonnie Hansen, a Missouri Department of Conservation resource scientist, about the lack of low-pressure hunting areas during blackpowder season. "If I were to seek out a conservation area with little pressure," he offered, "I'd look for the areas that only allow blackpowder hunting during rifle season. During rifle season, the conservation areas are hunted pretty hard -- even harder than private property -- and (the deer) are more than just a little skittish."

Suddenly a light bulb dimly flickered inside my head, and I began searching to find some of these areas with renewed energy.

Let's face it: Hunting during the muzzleloader season is downright tough. You're hunting deer that have been pursued furiously for two weeks already, and you're restricted to using a single-shot rifle. But don't despair: Modern muzzleloading weapons have the edge over blackpowder models from as recently as two decades ago, when 100 yards was thought to be the maximum range of a smokepole. Today, technology has brought the muzzleloader to the level of many modern rifles. The muzzleloading rifle has gone through many transformations from the sidelock replicas to the new high-tech inlines that rival most deer hunters' rifles in both downrange energies and accuracy. Today, shots out to 200 yards and beyond are a reality.

MISSION POSSIBLE
Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to find areas statewide in which to hunt during the muzzleloading season -- areas that restrict the use of firearms during the regular firearms season, but allow muzzleloaders during the rifle season. These areas often receive less hunting pressure than do conservation areas permitting rifles. Many of these CAs are little more than 40-acre pockets, while others are great expanses of several thousand acres to scout for a nice buck. One thing to remember: In these areas, blackpowder hunters share the woods with archers.